The present invention pertains generally to transmitting communication signals over three-phase power lines and particularly to a transformer arrangement for coupling the communication signals to the power line.
Although the transmission of communication signals over three-phase lines, for example, to monitor and control the electric power system itself, has been successfully addressed heretofore, the need by electric power companies for monitoring and controlling directly customer loads to combat increasingly intractable energy problems has created a need for new and different types of communication techniques. When the power line, itself, is used as a communications medium as an alternative to telephone circuits or radio waves for transmitting data to and from utility customer sites, all of the consumer loads served by a three-phase power distribution feeder are normally monitored and controlled from a central site via the distribution substation which supplies the feeder. Since these customer loads are individually connected between one of the phase conductors and the neutral conductor in a three phase neutral-wye system or between two of the phases in a three wire delta system, the transceiver at the substation for transmitting command signals to the customer loads and receiving monitor signals therefrom must be capable of coupling the signal onto all three phases since the loads are always distributed among the three phases in order to afford a balanced three phase load condition. This coupling may be accomplished by the use of three transceivers, there being one for coupling signals of a much higher frequency than the 60 hertz power frequency to each of the three-phase conductors or, alternatively, a single transceiver which is sequentially connected to the three-phase conductors so that all of the loads respectively connected thereto can be connected to the transceiver for communication purposes. The former approach is not cost effective since it constitutes equipment redundancy while the latter approach entails a switching mechanism which not only adds to the cost and diminishes the reliability of the equipment, but also increases time required for broadcast commands and adversely affects the signal wave which is propagated down the power line. A third alternative is to couple the communication signal to all three phases simultaneously such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,763, which issued to Whyte, et al. The transformer arrangement depicted therein of a single phase transformer with a multiple tap high voltage winding has notable disadvantages in that unbalanced phase conditions or tap settings result in circulating communication signal currents in the transformer which detracts from efficiency and the operation of the transceiver which is already burdened with translating signals in a difficult environment.
In view of the foregoing, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a new and improved transformer arrangement for coupling a communication signal simultaneously onto all three phase conductors of a three-phase power line.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a new and improved transformer arrangement which is relatively inexpensive and which optimizes the transceiver performance.
The foregoing objects, as well as others, and the means by which they are achieved through the invention herein, may best be appreciated by referring to the Detailed Description Of The Invention which follows hereinafter, together with the accompanying drawing.